Billionaires face brunt as A-share plunge spills over

Jack Ma, the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group. [File?Photo]

Billionaires in China have seen their fortunes shrink, as the A-share plunge spilled over Hong Kong- and US-listed Chinese stocks.

The country's top two wealthiest tycoons, Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, and Jack Ma Yun, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holdings, lost $661 and $123 million respectively on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The worst monthly slump in Chinese stocks in two years wiped away more than $34 billion in combined net worth of the richest people in mainland and Hong Kong in June.

Shenzhen-listed Wanda Cinema Line fell by the daily limit for three days before it was suspended from trading on Wednesday, while the group's Hong Kong-listed Wanda Commercial Properties slid 1.9 percent.

Alibaba Group Holding dropped 3.3 percent at the close of trading in New York on Tuesday, after diving as much as 9.1 percent.

Richard Liu Qiangdong, founder and CEO of another e-commerce giant JD.com, saw a decline of net wealth by $344 million, according to the index, after the company's stocks slumped 4 percent.

Zhou Qunfei, chairman of Lens Technology Co and the country's wealthiest self-made woman, saw her fortune shrink by $4.8 billion in June, as her Shenzhen-listed company tumbled 36 percent.

The benchmark Shanghai gauge has retreated 30 percent from its June 12 peak, as traders unwinded their leveraged positions at a record pace, leaving investors shudder in fear.